


Dirt on the skin, salt in the cut

by RPGCATZ



Series: Dirt on the Skin, Salt in the Cut [1]
Category: Marble Hornets
Genre: A dog eventually?, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Everyone Needs A Hug, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gay best friend Timothy Wright, Gen, Great Girlfriend Jessica, Haircuts, I will fill this fandom tag by my damn self if I have to, The tags revolving around Tim and Jessica and relationships are not for them specifically, Tim Finally Gets Proper Mental Help, Useless lesbian Jessica Locke, cmon you know i had to do it, impulsive hair cutting, like he deserves, mainly mentioned but like still be cautious with it, me waking up at 3am in a cold sweat: Did anyone tell Jessica or Tim about Brian or Amy????, specific tags will be added to the specific chapters as time goes on, their relationship is platonic - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-24
Updated: 2018-05-24
Packaged: 2019-03-09 05:15:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13474446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RPGCATZ/pseuds/RPGCATZ
Summary: //trigger warnings for a pretty badly written panic attack, and a bit of a mental set back. These are probably really badly written and I apologize but still be careful if stuff like that makes you uncomfortable.//——I’m screaming.This took so long to write but I’m actually pretty proud of it. Hopefully I’ll be far enough away from writers block to be able to bust out another chapter if you guys are interested. I’m very tired.Please also like can we just give Tim proper mental help???? Like I know he said everything is okay but obviously it’s not. Everyone is probably messed up man.This is mostly based off of my ridiculous service dog AU that just gives Tim a better life. And a dog.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> //trigger warnings for a pretty badly written panic attack, and a bit of a mental set back. These are probably really badly written and I apologize but still be careful if stuff like that makes you uncomfortable.//  
> ——  
> I’m screaming.  
> This took so long to write but I’m actually pretty proud of it. Hopefully I’ll be far enough away from writers block to be able to bust out another chapter if you guys are interested. I’m very tired.  
> Please also like can we just give Tim proper mental help???? Like I know he said everything is okay but obviously it’s not. Everyone is probably messed up man.  
> This is mostly based off of my ridiculous service dog AU that just gives Tim a better life. And a dog.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //update( 5/28/18)//  
> •fixed typos and the separators between each scene to match other chapters.

—1—

He inhaled.

Coffee filled his senses gently. The mix of a distant scent of tobacco was..odd. It mixed in and wove around the scent of coffee so.. gently. Softly. 

When was anything soft in his life? 

Now, apparently. 

He kept breathing in, his eyes still closed.  He felt a gently nudge of remembrance at the warm tingle of sun on his skin and the feel of puffy blankets and a soft comforter beneath his body. When had he last experienced anything that made him feel _this_  calm?

A name came to the forefront of his mind, but he quickly pushed it away. Whatever it was wasn’t important. 

At least not now. 

His body was warm. A reaction from the sun in the room and the heavy blankets surrounding him. They were akin to the color of lavender and some were like the clouds hanging high in the sky somewhere. 

He couldn’t keep dark things in the room he resided. Nothing tall or dark or skinny as all hell after what he had seen. 

He could see behind his eyes. They were a light orange and peach like color rather than a dark, blank abyss like he had seen behind his eyes for years. 

He was..

tired. 

He had slept but his mind was off somewhere. Not too far off, but far enough that he hadn’t gotten the full, deep slumber that he desired. 

 _Deserved,_ a voice whispered in his head.

He didn’t respond.  

He had done that for years and it really only made things worse in the long run.

A door closed softly somewhere else in the wooden home. 

Oh, Jessica was home from her six am run. 

That was good to know. 

What time was it anyway?

 _Seven ten_ , the voice whispered again. 

Jessica left the house every morning at six am, and returned to the quaint little building by seven ten. It was just a time to him, but to her it meant something.

Or it didn’t and he was just overanalyzing it and was acting like someone he used to know.

_pushed back._

_Not important._

_Not worth your time anymore._

He opened his eyes to the sight of a wooded wall. The window hung proudly above his head and in poured the sunlight. 

Was it possible to get a tan from window filtered sun? 

He didn’t know. 

He was already slightly tan.

Lines of normal skin faded into a darker, sun smothered flesh that carried covered up scars from what seemed like decades ago.

He had blotches of tan skin around his eyes from the extended use of.. something.. gripping his skin and concealing every area but two large circles around his eyes. 

They weren’t really that noticeable under his glasses though..

No one would ask why he wore them all the time..

That was fine. That was how he preferred it. 

_No questions,_

_No answers,_

_No need to drag up old memories._

He breathed in.

Taking in the scent of coffee and tobacco and wood and now the addition of steaming shower water.

He opened his eyes.

Turning to the side of the bed, he stretched yet kept his feet far from the underside of the bed, an old childhood fear keeping his legs above solid, dark stained wood.

Standing from the bed, he ran a finger through his hair, sighed and reached for his glasses on his bedside table. The sun felt good on his skin and he came to the conclusion that he would miss it once he entered the bathroom. He did every morning. Though, he could just open a window or something, but that could be a recipe for disaster. So he decided against it. 

His feet pulled him to the bathroom, a beige painted door that barely made a sound when it shut. He wouldn’t need to shut it though. He rarely ever shut doors nowadays. It was unnecessary and his therapist had helped him over that fear too, so the door shutting and double then triple checked locking it system went unused. 

He turned to the mirror quietly, his glasses clearing up the blur in the room that he had been faced with for years.

Once he was done reliving himself and washing his hands, 

He inhaled, closed his eyes,

And he started his daily set of questions, as per his therapist’s suggestion. 

He swore he almost heard her voice in his head as he started.

_what is your full name?_

**_Timothy Abe Wright._ **

_how old are you?_

_**Twenty Six.** _

_who is your immediate family?_

_**I was abandoned at five years old. But I live with a girl who I have come to see as my closest friend. I trust her quite a lot..** _

_what do you remember from the past fourteen years?_  

_**nothing really..** _

_where are you right now?_

**_Im in Jessica’s house. I live here._ **

And it was true. 

Tim looked away from his reflection in the bathroom mirror and stared at the open door of the room. 

About a year ago he would have slamed it as soon as he passed from the carpet onto the cold tile in fear of tall slender things chasing him down the hall. 

But now all he saw was Jessica in some loose t-shirt and shorts, drying off her hair with a small towel and humming to the tune of some cartoon theme on the television. 

 _Safe_ , his mind reminded him. 

He nodded to himself.

 _Safe_. 

And then Jessica was outside the bathroom door with damp hair and a goofy grin on her face, her eyebrows raised in a silent yet playful question.

”if you nod your head any harder, I swear you’ll become a bobble head doll,” She said.

 

Tim sharply turned his head to her and almost jerks away from her voice, _almost_. 

He must have had a look on his face because Jessica’s smile turned to a small frown and her eyebrows furrowed. He hated making her make that face. 

She leaned forward gently, her arms uncrossing and her voice almost a whisper in Tim’s ear.

”You okay, Tim?”

Tim nodded. A lump building in his throat for no reason at all. 

He cleared his throat quickly and attempted to will the lump to melt or dissolve or something.

”I..I’m okay..”

”You sure?”

Tim nodded once more. The lump ever present in his throat. 

“I haven’t taken my pills yet.” 

Jessica’s eyes swished over to the clock on the desaturated peach colored wall. 

“Oh,” was all she said. A look of suprise or something growing on her face.

She nodded and turned back to Tim.

”You need a water bottle or something?”

Tim was going to respond but then her eyes narrowed and she put an open hand to her cheek, her eyes gazing off into the distance.

”Don’t you have to eat something before taking those pills?”

She nods to herself and takes the hand off her face, instead reaching out for Tim to grab. 

“C’mon. Grab your pills too, Imma make you breakfast.” 

Tim doesn’t question her. 

He just doesn’t. 

Tim turns to grab his pills from the cabinet, and when he turns back around he honestly expects Jessica to have gone to the kitchen already. But instead she is still right there, her hand outstretched and her eyes soft and welcoming. 

Tim, although hesitant, reached out and grabbed her hand gently. 

She gripped her fingers around his hand and started to pull him out the door of the bathroom, her previously heated skin was now pleasantly cold against his surprisingly feverish flesh.

His feet dragged along the mix of wood and carpet that laid still and motionless on the dark wood floor. Jessica’s footfalls fell quietly onto his ears, almost as if she was never.. there....at all.

Tim’s eyes widened at the thought. His hands became clammy,his mouth had gone dry, sweat pooled at the nape of his neck and rose from the skin of his temple. His breathing became sharp and shallow.

_Was Jessica even real?_

He was shaking. A voice in the back of his head was telling him that she was, but how could it know? His mind had been wrong in the past, so how could it know for sure?

The world around him was sinking in. Darkness creeping around the edges of his vision, slowly consuming everything.

Something was on his shoulder, a hand. It was slender and pale. Oh...  
Oh god..  
_Oh god._  
_ohgodohgodohgodohgod_  
_It was here._  
_That thing was here._  
_How?_  
_It was dead. It was fucking dead._  
_But what if it wasn’t?_  
_No._  
_Nononononononono_  
_This couldn’t be real._  
_This couldn’t be happening._  
_Thiswasn’treal._  
_Thiswasntrealthiswasntrealthiswasntreal_  
_**This couldn’t be fucking real.**_  
_But the hand is real._  
_It’s still there._  
_Its alive._  
_It’s alive._  
_It’s still alive._  
_Nonononononononono_  
_It. It wasn’t real._  
_It’s not real._  
_It’s. Not. Real._

_It’s-_

Suddenly he was up against something hard and solid. 

 _A wall_ , his head said quietly. 

He wanted to scream at it to shut the hell up but Jessica was brushing her fingers against his forehead and speaking quietly to him. 

He couldn't hear what she was saying but he could make out her lips forming around words like "okay” and “you’re”.

He didn’t question her, nor did he try to doubt her. 

He never did.

——

He inhaled again.

The smell of bacon and pancake mix was wafting through the air.

Tim wanted to tell her that she didn’t need to do this all by herself, but he knew that if he did she would gently snap back at him that she was perfectly capable of doing it on her own. 

It was like a routine. 

Tim would try to refuse any unnecessary gestures, and Jessica would insist that he  deserved it. He would sigh and say that she could at least let him help, and she would say that he didn’t need to be doing any of the work for the thing that she was doing for him. 

It was a little weird.

But when was anything _not_ weird in their house?

Apparently never.

The kitchen they were in was of decent size, with lighter colored planks of wood spread out on the floor and the table and island counter being of darker wood. The table tops were of some kind of light  material that Tim couldn’t name for his life. 

The walls themself were a warm yellow color that brought out the dark color of the rest of the room’s furniture. 

Tim liked it. It was interesting to see the contrast of yellow and dark brown.

It was a distraction.

It reminded him of someone.

He nearly slammed his hands against his face in anger. He needed to stop doing that. 

He needed to forget. 

But he didn’t want to.

He needed to but.. he didn’t want to forget him, them. All of them. 

His eyes swirled against the design of the island’s countertop. He didn’t want to forget his best friend. He didn’t-

A plate of freshly made pancakes with some bacon was placed in his field of vision, right next to the half empty bottle of water that he had taken with his pills. 

His head snapped up to look at Jessica. A frown had found its way to her face. 

“Thank you.”

”No problem, Tim.”

She walked back to the stove and placed some pancakes on her own plate, and placed only two or three pieces of bacon on her plate. 

She grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and waltzed back to the island, her plate in hand, and a slightly smaller frown on her face. 

Jessica sat down quietly next to Tim. Close if needed but not close enough to be offputting. 

She sliced apart one of the pancakes and reached for the bottle of syrup that resided in between her own arm and Tim’s. 

As she clicked off the cap of the bottle, she looked at Tim gently, the small frown still present on her face. 

“You were zoned out, you okay?” 

He contemplated spilling his thoughts out to her. Just pouring his thoughts onto her like she did with the syrup. But then he remembered that she had her own problems. She had her own trauma to deal with. 

“Tim?”

He realized only a second too late that he was zoned out again, and looked to see Jessica’s worried face.

”I was just thinking.. sorry.”

She clicked the cap back onto the bottle and placed it down onto the counter. Pushing the bottle towards Tim while placing a pancake chunk into her mouth, she raised an eyebrow. She placed her hand over her mouth and with a muffled voice asked, 

“Wanna watch TV?”

Tim took the bottle from it’s resting place and hummed in agreement. 

He clicked the cap off of the bottle, and tipped it over onto his plate. Looking up, he watched as Jessica slid off the island chair and padded into the living room. The kitchen island had a perfect view of the tv, which meant that tv over breakfast or dinner or whatever they ate or did at the table was frequent. Jessica spent a minute or so turning and twisting in the room looking for the remote. She had this funny, scrunched up face on that made Tim chuckle. 

She whipped around as she reached for the remote, which had been placed on the small table next to the couch, and smiled at Tim. 

“Whatchu laughin’ at Timothy?”

The voice had a small drop of accusation in it, but it was joking. 

“Just you runing around in circles like a dog with this absolutely stupid face on.”

Jessica placed a hand on her hip and the other on her chest, her face now contorting into mocked offense. 

“How dare you insult my face after I slaved over those delicious pancakes just for you!”

Tim raised a hand to his mouth so as to cover his laugh. 

“I’m sorry, it was just funny.”

Jessica’s face softened and she rolled her eyes. She pointed at the untouched plate of pancakes in front of Tim.

”Eat your pancakes Timothy.”

He laughed once more and started to cut open one of the puffy circle that laid drenched in syrup on his plate.

Jessica returned to his side with the remote in hand and pointed it out to the tv, her other hand returning to the fork on her own plate. As she scrolled through the channels, she moved pieces of pancake into her mouth. 

“What 90’s kids’ cartoon do you wanna watch?”

Tim looked at the options quickly and then placed a pancake chunk in his mouth, chewing and swallowing it in thought. 

“Tom and Jerry?” He suggested.

“Sure.” She responded.

She clicked the select button on the  remote and then placed it onto the counter. 

They sat and ate quietly. 

 _Calm_ , his head noted. 

He nodded to himself and looked to Jessica quietly. A laugh bubbled through her lips loudly.

He smiled at her, though she couldn’t see it, and turned his head back to face a window that poured light into the small yellow painted kitchen.

The sun was softer now, and wasn’t as spot on as it was in the afternoons or mid days. It was his favorite time of day, the sun being one reason all on its own. 

He kept smiling at the sight of the light pouring in, and turned back to watch whatever was on tv that had made Jessica laugh. 

Tim ignored the feeling of memories slipping in and out of his skull, and ignored the pain of salt in the wounds that his mind liked to tear open every now and again. 

His mind was a dickhead sometimes..

But right now all it could do was remind him of how moments like this made him feel, how these moments and his life were now  _safe._

He was _Safe._

_——_

He tried not to doubt himself too hard....


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //// TRIGGER WARNINGS ////:
> 
> •alcohol  
> •hinted at alcoholic actions  
> •self deprecating words  
> •lots of use of drowning as a metaphor for sadness, depression, etc.  
> •hinted at character death  
> •mentioned character deaths  
> •impulsive hair cutting due to alcohol and emotions  
> And,  
> •self sacrificing tendencies
> 
> Do feel free to tell me if I missed anything.  
> Stay safe, loves!~
> 
> //update( 4/6/18)//  
> •fixed some typos and a sentence that didn’t make sense.
> 
> //update( 5/28/18)//  
> •fixed typos and the separators between each scene to match other chapters.

—2—

The next time Tim sees Jessica, she’s holding a pair of scissors and staring at herself in the mirror with the darkest expression he’s ever seen on her. 

She’s glaring at her reflection. 

Her face is puffy and red and her eyelashes are sticking into triangles and red angry lines drag across her eyeballs and she makes a noise that crosses between the lines of angry and sad and Tim is standing in the doorway, holding his breath. Ready to stop her if he needs.

There’s a bottle on the floor. 

It’s half empty and probably spilling onto the carpet but Tim is staring at Jessica’s shaking hands as she grabs at a long puff of hair and pulls and snips off the strands in her white knuckled fist wildly. 

There’s a bottle on the floor. 

Her eyebrows are scrunching and the tears are falling faster and her cuts are sloppy and there’s a noise echoing from the back of her throat and the strands of hair are falling and Tim moves forward as she starts to spill degrading words at herself loudly. 

“You fucking idiot..”

Tim steps forward.

”She’s probably dead because of you..”

The scissors drop from her hands and she wraps her arms around herself, her nails digging into her own flesh. 

“It’s all your fault..”

Her voice breaks as Tim places a hand on her shoulder and turns her to face him. He’s wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly. 

Her legs give our and she’s wrapping her arms around Tim and squeezing like he’s a lifeboat in the sea of her terror. He follows her to the ground, still wrapped around her. 

The bottle sits dripping dark liquid onto the carpet. 

Her breath dips and she’s crying harder and the scissors and the bottle are forgotten for the time. Tim holds her gently, but hard enough to ground her. 

She breaks his heart when she whispers to him, her voice cracking and her chest heaving and her face a mess of splotchy reds and tear tracks.

”Tim...” she said, almost pleading to him.

“what happened to her??”

He didn’t need to ask who she was talking about.

“What happened to Amy, Tim?..”

He feels like they’re drowning in the contents of the bottle. 

He doesn’t know how to help her float. 

 

 _He doesn’t know how to help her float._  

——

Tim knew he would eventually need to tell her.

He knew that eventually she would ask about _him,_ or about Amy, or Alex, or Sarah, or Seth, or Tim’s best friend. 

Tim could only answer for two of them. 

Were she to ask of a person draped in a mustard yellow hoodie and a paint decorated mask, Tim could confidently tell her that they were dead. 

It was when she asked of Amy or _him_ or Tim’s best friend, that he couldn’t bring himself to tell her or he himself had no idea what had even happened. 

He hated lying to her. 

He hated it so fucking much because he knew that she didn’t deserve to be lied to. 

But she had been through enough as was, and Tim couldn’t bring himself to add onto it. 

So he lied. Not about everything, but about those years that she could barely remember and he wished he could forget. 

Jessica trusted him. 

And he trusted Jessica. 

But he couldn’t bring himself to destroy her like that. 

He had been beyond devastated at the news of their deaths. At the disappearance of his best friend. At the blood on his hands. 

He didn’t want to think about what Jessica would end up like. 

He couldn’t bring himself to do it. 

He didn’t need to, as the proof was laying in his arms on the bathroom floor, crying her heart out. 

——

Tim ran his fingers through Jessica’s hacked off hair, and held her tighter. 

She was almost a full head taller than him, even when sitting down, so hugging was awkward, but she needed this. She needed him there. So he would be. 

She sobbed into his shoulder and shook in his arms. Her body cold and clamy. 

She hadn’t left that morning to run. 

There was no childish cartoon theme song playing on the tv that morning. 

There was no smell of breakfast floating in from the kitchen that morning. 

The sun had been overcast that morning. 

Tim knew it was going to be a bad day that morning.

And then he had found her like that. 

The bottle was half empty and many more drowned bottles were scattered throughout the house that Tim would need to clean up later.

He didn’t even need to check. 

He already knew there would be. 

This was a cycle for them. 

A cycle that twisted and turned and spun so quickly into Tim’s vision that he couldn’t see where they would land next.

He needed to tell her eventually.

——

Tim was never really good at hair styling, but he knew the basics. Wet hair was easier to cut then dry hair, that it would look a little shorter if he cut too much off, and that he needed to blow dry it when they were done. 

It was all basic stuff that he had picked up from cutting his own hair, and from cutting _his_. 

 _Not now_ , he thought to himself. 

 _Focus on Jessica._  

The sniping of the scissors opening and closing around Jessica’s hair was almost therapeutic, despite what had happened not even two hours before. 

He cut and snipped and tried his best to make it look nice before Jessica said his name and held her arms open to him. He sat down the scissors, making a mental note to put them away later, and hugged her once more. She burried her face into his neck and breathed in their mixing scents. 

He ran his fingers through her hair and tried to will the tides of the terrifying ocean of sadness to let her breathe. 

——

Tim had pulled Jessica out of the bathroom and moved her gently onto the living room couch. He had turned the tv onto some children's show about a talking dog and a group of teenagers that Jessica had shown interest in mornings before. It had taken time to find the remote as she had thrown it across the room in a angry, drunken haze. 

He had then moved quickly around the house to find the bottles. One was in the kitchen, one was in the living room, two more were in Jessica’s bedroom and the final one was in their bathroom on the carpet. Leaking it’s contents and drowning them both in the waters. 

Tim was trying to push Jessica back above the waters. He didn’t want her to drown too. He couldn’t let her drown too. 

She was still crying by the time he got back to the living room, but she wasn’t shaking as bad as she could be. 

Tim placed the bottles carefully into the garbage can, and quickly washed his hands. Turning back to the dimly lit living room, he shuffled to grab a blanket from off the back of a chair, and moved to the couch to place it over Jessica’s form. 

He sat himself next to her as thunder rumbled somewhere off in the distance. 

She looked at him for a moment, before wrapping her spidery arms around his midsection. She squeezed and held onto him, and he wrapped one arm around her and used the other to run his fingers through her hair, pushing her head onto his chest. She had eventually stopped crying, but she didn’t let go of him yet. 

“Jess?” 

She hummed into his chest quietly.

”You wanna come make hot chocolate with me?” 

Jessica looked down for a moment, then nodded and backed away from him on the couch. He stood and turned, offering his hand to help her. She took it gently, and he pulled her to her feet. 

Her hair, now dry, no longer pooled near the area just below her collar bone,  instead it puffed up and just barely reached the mid section of her neck. 

She ran a hand through it and tightened her grip on Tim’s hand. 

Pulling her into the kitchen lightly, he flicked on the lights near the stove and reached for the cabinet that held the little kcups of chocolate.

Taking out two, he gave her hand a quick squeeze before letting it go in order to get two cups. 

He felt her quickly move up behind him and wrap her arms around him, laying her head on his shoulders gently. He pushed back into her lightly as he pulled a light red mug that was decorated with pictures of flowers and strawberries out of the cabinet. 

Reaching his hands back into the cabinet, Tim pulled out another mug that was a light lavender color with small gold, painted cat faces all over it. Tim smiled at the cup as his head filled with the memory of Jessica handcrafting the mug herself. 

Setting them to the side, he turned to their kcup machine, and quickly flicked it on. 

He set Jessica’s cup down first under the stream of hot chocolate, and turned back to her a little. 

“Extra milk or plain?” 

“Extra,”

Tim nodded and reached to pull open the fridge door. Pushing his hand into the slight cold, he wrapped his hand around the handle of the milk jug and pulled it out.

As the stream of hot water splashed into the cup, now painted with chocolate, Tim set the milk jug down and turned back to face Jessica. 

He wrapped his arms around her, and rubbed small, gentle circles into her back. 

She leaned her head against his shoulder, and he kept holding her. 

The waves weren’t gone, but they were letting up. And Tim could feel Jessica’s breathing against his chest. He could feel air entering and leaving from her nose, which brushed up against his skin. 

She wasn't drowning right now, and he wasn’t either. 

——

They sat there quietly, Tim’s hand rubbing small circles into Jessica’s back, and her head laying on his shoulder.

They sipped hot chocolate, and listened to the storm bubbling outside their house. 

Rain gently patted against the windows, and thunder rumbled somewhere farther from the house.

”I’m sorry, Tim”

He turned to her quietly before laying his head on hers and speaking softly.

”It’s okay, Jes.”

She burried her head into his shoulder further, and spoke again.

”I’m sorry..”

Tim set his mug down, and wrapped both of his arms around her. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s gonna be okay Jessica..”

It had to eventually be okay.

 

It just _had_ to be. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shopping trip!!! Love!! The neighbors!! Useless Lesbian Jessica Locke!!! Salad dressing debates!!!

 

—3—

 

Tim squinted at the list in his hand as he pushed the cart forward slightly. 

“Fuckin’ hell Jess. I can’t even read my own writing right now,” 

Jessica stopped playing with the short strand of hair between her fingers and rolled her eyes. Plucking the paper from Tim’s grasp, she waved it in front of him with a small “this is why you shouldn’t leave your glasses at home Timothy,” and  started to list off what was on the paper.

”Uhhh, eggs, check. Salad, check. Ranch dressing, check. Zesty Italian dressing, for those of us who are not  _heathens,”_ she said with a side ways glance at Tim, “check _.”_

”Hey!” Tim gave a mocked face of hurt to Jessica and put a hand over his chest, “rude.” 

Tim pushed the cart farther as Jessica finished reading off the list.

They headed for the dairy section, as the last of the items they needed were there. As they finally came to a stop in front of the milk jugs, Jessica reached for the whole milk but hovered her hand there and instead reached for the almond milk instead. 

Tim stared at the yogurt section while he firmly stated to Jessica that,

“Ranch dressing is a totally valid salad topping and you can eat my entire ass if you think otherwise, Locke.” 

Tim could _feel_ the force of her eye roll without even looking at her. 

“God, you’re such a fucking heathen Timothy. 

“It’s true and you know it.”

Jessica turned around in false offense and shoved the milk carton into Tim’s chest. 

“Like hell it is.” 

With a turn, she started to lead them to the checkout with Tim smirking at her back. 

“It is, though. You’re just too afraid to admit it.” 

“I am not afra- ayyyeed!!!” 

Jessica suddenly pulled back and nearly slammed herself into the buggy with an unholy noise spilling from her lips. She flailed her arms and her knees buckled but she somehow managed to catch herself before falling and crushing their eggs. 

“Holy shit??” was all Tim could really say at the display of waving limbs before him.

“Are you-“ 

“Tim, Tim, Timothy, Timster, Thomson. _Holy shit_ \- I just saw someone so beautiful I’m-“ 

Jessica had turned herself around to face Tim and was now fanning herself with one hand and cupping Tim’s cheek in the other. She had, actual tears?, in her eyes and Tim was suddenly very worried about her. 

“I- what?” 

“A human!! A beautiful, beautiful human in a sundress with this cute little hair band on and oh my god? They’re so beautiful. Holy shit- I think I’m in love?” 

Jessica was blushing now and cupping her own face and covering her eyes a bunch and gushing about this person that Tim hadn't even seen and Tim was.. _very confused._

Okay, yes. Confusion. So much confusion. 

Tim patted her arm and smiled gently at her. 

“Who.. who are you talking about?” 

Jessica suddenly let go of her own face and grabbed onto Tim’s shoulders, pulling him close to a junk food and magazine covered rack and attempting to slyly point at the pretty coustomer at checkout 12. 

Between Jessica’s whispered gushings, Tim quickly interjected with “you know I can’t see them, right?” 

Jessica looked at Tim and snapped her open mouth shut. 

They stared at each other for a bit before Tim continued with “so that means that we're just going to have to go up there for me to see them.” 

Jessica’s eyes widened and her blush deepened as she processed what Tim had said. 

“Wa-wait what? Really? Go? Up there? Near them? Pretty person?? _Really_???” 

Tim grabbed the buggy and began to push it in the direction of checkout 12. 

Jessica made a choked squeal and grabbed onto Tim’s shoulders once more. 

“Tim. Tim! What if they think we’re dating?” 

He sighed and placed a hand on Jessica's comfortingly.

”Look, if they’re in any way someone that would be interested in you, chances are they’ll know exactly how unstraight we both are.” 

Jessica seemed to sober from her high at his words but before she could ask him anything, Tim grabbed a handful of candy bars and shoved them into her chest. 

“Here’s the story. You’re a girl about to go on a really long drive to a, uh, picnic. Neighborhood picnic. Yeah, yeah, and you’re gonna be hanging around a bunch of old people that you barely know who want to talk to you about lawn care or golf or drunk corn hole or some shit like that. So, you want to recruit a bunch of people your age, who know how to have a good time, and they!” Tim pointed at the person that had Jessica in the clouds, “Seem like the perfect person to invite.” 

Jessica nodded numbly, and wrapped her hand around the bundle of candy bars like a sword. By this rate they would be melted when they got back out to the car. 

“Wait, but there might be other 25 or 27 year olds going already. And aren’t we technically lying to them?” 

Tim rubbed his temple and pulled Jessica forward, “only slightly. Doesn’t matter. Go get ‘em Jessie.” 

With that, Tim pushed Jessica towards the check out section entrance and whispered to her quickly “I’ll be right behind you, go!” 

He tried not to wince too hard as she stumbled into the isle.

 

——

 

He himself moved into the isle only after he saw Jessica place the half melted chocolate on the belt and begin to talk to the beautiful person who had had Jessica tongue tied. 

They were soft spoken, and had a halo of curly brown hair. It was held down with a sunflower colored headband that matched the color of their dress and presumably their heels. 

Tim talked with the cashier and payed quietly for their items, including the half melted chocolate bars. 

He was barely listening to the cashier as he was more in tuned to what Jessica was saying to the person. She kept stumbling over words that were usually easy for her to speak, and she was fidgeting with her fingers and shifting her legs with almost every word. 

When Tim was done with paying the cashier, he pushed the cart out of the isle and to the side, keeping his hand on the railing so as to stop it from moving. 

He turned to Jessica and the person, who was laughing softly at something Jessica had said, and smiled at the look of accomplishment and happiness that had started to fill Jessica’s eyes. 

He looked at the person’s outfit and noticed the bomber jacket they wore around their shoulders now had a pride patch on the folded collar. 

_Huh. Convenient._

”Oh, are we in your way? Sorry I’ll..” 

The person suddenly took notice of Tim and attempted to move away from their place in the opening. Jessica also took notice of Tim and quickly spoke at the person.

”uh, no no no no. Um, he’s with me. We’re together” 

A look of sadness crossed the person’s face, and their shoulders fell gently as Tim caught onto what was wrong. 

“Ah- she doesn’t mean like _together_ together. We’re not. She’s not. I’m- we’re...”

”Siblings. Adopted. He’s my brother, we rode here in the same car. We’re not dating.” 

Tim’s heart stopped at her words. 

He looked at her through suddenly stinging eyes, but she was looking at the person, who gave a slight sigh at the statement. 

He blinked and his heart returned to normal and the stinging in his eyes disappeared. Jessica was saying something to the person, who hesitated before nodding and allowing Jessica to lift some of the bags that they were holding into their buggy. 

There were now seven new bags in their buggy, and they were filled with child care products like fourmula and bibs. 

He looked back at the person, who was still talking with Jessica, and nodded to himself. 

It was none of his business. 

——

They walked out to the parking lot with the seven bags in their cart. 

Jessica and the person were chatting about something while Tim pushed the buggy in the direction that the person had said their vehicle was. Suddenly the person, who had been talking excitedly about whatever topic had come up with Jessica, stopped talking and walked up farther to walk closer to Tim. 

“Uh, I think I can make the trip from here.” They said. 

Tim pulled the buggy to a stop and looked at them, his eyebrows furrowed. 

“You sure? You have a lot of stuff, I’d feel bad just letting you walk it all to your car when I could have helped you.” 

They opened their mouth, and closed it again. Their eyes were wide and kept switching from looking at Jessica to looking at Tim. A familiar look of anxiety and panic filled their eyes and Tim let a softer look fit into his face. 

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s no problem to me, I just wanna help you.” He whispered to them gently. 

Their hand moved up to their arm and they took a deep breath before replying. 

“I.. okay.” 

Jessica looked at Tim with a worried stare. He nodded at her softly and began to rummage through his pockets for his keys. 

“Jess, can you go unlock the car? I think  I’ve got it from here.” 

She looked between the two of them and only stood still for a moment before grabbing the keys out to Tim’s hand. 

As she walked off, Tim looked back to the person. 

“I really don’t mean to make you uncomfortable, if that’s what I did. I just wanted to ask you a question or two, and I figured having Jess here would have made you clam up.” 

They nodded as Tim began to lead them to their vehicle again. 

They walked in silence for a moment before Tim spoke. 

“Is the baby yours?” 

They nearly tripped at his words and he reached an arm out to catch them before they fell, but they righted them self and pulled away gently. 

“I.. how do you..?” 

He pulled his arm back and pointed to the buggy’s seven new inhabitants. 

A look of slight shock filled their face and then nodded. 

“Are you going to tell her?” They asked with a tone only someone with experience of the underlying fear they carried could speak in. 

“Not if you don’t want me to,” he looked at them before continuing, “do you want me to tell her?” 

They hesitated before shaking their head.

”No, no. Please don’t. I don’t want her to freak out over it.” 

Tim nodded, and continued to his next question. 

“Are you ashamed of them?” 

An emotion filled their eyes and Tim couldn’t quite place it. 

“Of course not, I could never be ashamed of my baby. I just. People don’t want a commitment like that in dating, you know?” 

Tim nodded once more. 

They walked in silence until they reached the vehicle. 

“You should stop looking for someone to _love_ you and that baby, and start looking for people that will _support_ you and the baby.” He paused before continuing, “I’ll take a wild guess and say that you’re a single parent, trying to raise a child, and not having many people in your life that will care about you and that child equally. I think my mom had the same problem with me. So she left me and continued on with her life.”

The person looked at him with pity in their eyes. “I.. I’m so sorry..”

”Don’t be. I’m over it. But just. I know what it’s like to be abandoned by someone who’s supposed to raise and love you. I don’t want you to have to make that choice, nor do I want that child to live through what I did. So if you need someone to support both you and that baby,” he paused and took a breath, “I’m willing to offer.” 

They both stood there by their vehicle. 

Tim reached into one of the bags and pulled out a receipt. Reaching into one of his pockets, he pulled out a pen and wrote his number onto the receipt quickly. He handed it to the person once he signed his name onto it. They stared at it and gripped it harder. 

They brushed a hand agaist the bottom of their eye and took a deep, shaky breath. 

“I.. thank you..” 

He put a hand on their shoulder comfortingly and nodded. 

“No problem..” 

 

——

 

When he returned to the car, Jessica was sitting in the passenger seat with the windows rolled down just a tad. 

When she spotted Tim, she perked up and rolled her window down further. 

“Dude, where the hell have you been?” 

“I was helping them unload their stuff.” 

Jessica stared intensely at Tim before taking on a softer look and leaning out the window towards him.

“Was she okay? Like, why did she get all, panicky? Was it me? Did I say something to make her uncomfortable?” 

Tim had started pushing all of the bags into the back of the car but stopped at her words. He looked at her before placing the bag down and walking over to her. Resting his head on the side of the car, he placed a hand on her arm and squeezed. 

“Jessie, you didn’t upset her. I just wanted to make sure she understood that if she ever hurt you, I would personally destroy her.” 

Jessica looked at him worryingly. 

“Please don’t tell me you actually told her you would hurt her.” 

“I said it with body language and tone?” 

She covered her face with her hands and groaned. Tim just laughed and put the rest of the bags in the car, making sure to grab the nearly melted chocolate bars before closing the door and getting into  the driver’s side. 

“Tim, we aren’t even dating! Chances are she’s not even gay!! And you just told her you would kill her if she hurt me???” 

Tim started up the car and laughed gently.

”Okay, okay. I lied, we actually just talked about the neighborhood picnic  because someone invited her but didn’t tell her what time or the place it would be at.” 

As they drove out of the parking lot and onto the highway, Tim tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. 

“What’s her name anyways? Didn’t get a chance to catch it when we were talking.” 

“Oh! Well her name’s Fleur! Which mean flower in French! And that’s so cute because she looked like a bumblebee and she’s just so cute and-“ 

Jessica kept rambling about Fleur and about how cute she was and Tim kept driving down the highway with his fingers tapping. 

When they arrived home, Tim’s phone buzzed in his pocket. 

He pulled it out and stared at the screen. 

There was a text from an unknown number under the time on the screen. 

It simply read,

  thank you-  

          Fleur.

 

He smiled as he added the contact to his phone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully this chapter is a little sillier because I think I like someone and I wanted to have Jessica go through that too, so I gave her a useless lesbian moment, which I have had many of. (( there’ll be more for Jess if you guys liked it!!))  
> Also, to explain, Tim wanted to be there for Fleur as he understands what it’s like to be unsupported and alone and how hard it is to be a parent with those factors. He also figured, well Jessica likes her so I might as well be a supportive figure if im going to help raise the child anyways.

**Author's Note:**

> As Always,  
> Comments and Kudos are much appreciated loves!~


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